HIGH NOON, JULY 22, 1984; I was standing atop a spectacular Maya pyramid in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. My clothing was soaked with sweat from the incredible heat -- but more important was the amazing view around and beneath me, and I was all but oblivious to the burning sun as I surveyed the silent, overgrown ruins of the city of Uxmal from my elevated position. I tried to imagine the city alive with people, smoke rising from a hundred altars, the sounds and smells of a thriving civilisation...
Some time that afternoon, at 17 years old, I decided that I wanted to be an archaeologist. Since then I have been steadily accumulating the credentials and practical experience to realize my dream. Now, working on my PhD in archaeology, I am occasionally
y so overwhelmed by the details and red tape of academics that I have to remind myself of why I started the affair in the first place; I have to take time to rekindle the sense of wonder that started me off, and the Internet is a great place to do so. Archaeologists have put their their findings on the web in all sorts of forms. If you're curious about archaeology, want to actually get involved, or you just want to take some time to ponder ancient peoples and places, there are plenty of online opportunity
es.
For example...you can arrange to go on an archaeological expedition!
Talk about getting involved! Many people dream of working on an archaeological dig, but wonder what sort of experience they need, or how to get in touch with research teams. A great way to start is to check out the current Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities. Here you can find a current listing of archaeological projects, worldwide, which accept volunteers, paying students and/or paid excavators. Many excavations will accept unexperienced volunteers; while there is no pay, room and board, often in a field-camp setting, are normally offered once you arrive at the site. Other excavations are 'field schools', where students pay to learn archaeological field techniques. If you're in college, this is a great way to earn credit as well as spend a summer outdoors (most excavations take place in summer).
The EARTHWATCH organization promotes a wide variety of scientific expeditions, including archaeological projects, in which participants share some amount of the costs.
...you can read about current archaeological discoveries...
There are several archaeological journals online; one of the most popular is Archaeology, which allows you to look over summaries of its current issues. You can then either subscribe to the printed version or just buy news-stand copies of the issues you which take your interest.
Another online journal is Current Archaeology, a gateway to information on current research in the United Kingdom.
...and you can visit online archaeological exhibits...
Excavations produce huge volumes of a wide variety of artifacts and other material: bones, artwork, stone tools and plant remains are just a few of the types of material which are recovered and often are found in museum collections. Some online exhibits include:
- The Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Simon Fraser University, Canada (where I'm studying!). Here we have exhibits of several sites on the Northwest Coast of North America.
- Interested in the remote past? The study of ancient cave art is one of the most fascinating fields in archaeology. You can ponder 30,000-year old cave paintings from The Chauvet Cave in France, or figurines on display at The Mothers of Time Exhibit: these items may or may not be 25,000 years old...the question is the sort of mystery faced by archaeologists every day.
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Perhaps your interest is more in the rise, flourishing and collapse of ancient civilizations...You can wonder at The Splendors of Ancient Egypt, or take An Unguided Tour of Pompeii, the famous city buried by a catastrophic volcanic eruption in 79 A.D. (you can also see a collection of Photos of Pompeii at Tulane Univeristy). Turning to the Americas, you can expore aspects of belief and everyday life in the Maya civilization at the Rabbit in the Moon site.
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So much to explore...How about investigating the Ice
Mummies of the
Inca...or, The Discovery Programme can put you in touch with many facets of archaeology in Ireland, and even NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is in on archaeology, with their Catalog of High-Altitude Images of Archaeological Sites, from the Great Wall of China to Jerusalem, to Angkor in Cambodia.
...and there's more!
There's a lot more archaeology on the Internet; these are just a few of the more interesting sites. If you're seeking something more specific, please feel free to email me, and I'll see if I can help. You may want to start with the ArchNet, a Cornell University guide to Internet archaeology.
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